SWISS LEGATION REPORT OF THE RUSSIAN
INVASION OF HUNGARY IN THE
SPRING OF 1945

THE MEMBERS of the Swiss legation and consulate, accompanied by a group of
Swiss subjects-
as an aggregate about sixty persons -
left Budapest in 1945 at the end of March and beginning of April. The
following is a summary condensed from their reports, drafted on May 24, 1945,
in Switzerland.

During the siege of Budapest and also during the following fateful weeks,
Russian troops looted the city freely. They entered practically every
habitation, the very poorest as well as the richest. They took away everything
they wanted, especially food, clothing and valuables. Looting was general and
profound, but not always systematic. It happened, for instance, that a man was
deprived of all his trousers, but his jackets were left to him. There were
also small groups which specialized in hunting up valuables, using magnetic
mine detectors in search of gold, silver and other metals. Trained dogs were
also used. Looting became more general after the Russians had gutted the city,
for they did not object to proletarians, who previously had been looted by
them, looting the city for themselves. Thus every apartment, shop, bank, etc.
was looted several times. Furniture and larger objects of art, etc. that could
not be taken away were frequently simply destroyed. In many cases, after
looting, the homes were also put on fire, causing a vast total loss.

Bank safes were emptied without exception -
even the British and American safes -
and whatever was found was taken. Cash found in the banks was confiscated (in
the Commercial Bank 120,000,000 pengoes; in the Credit Bank 80,000,000
pengoes). The Russians use their own currency with the inscription "Red Army"
but the peasants are unwilling to accept this currency. In commercial rating,
1,000 Russian-labeled pengoes are worth only 800 normal pengoes. The Swiss franc was rated 60 to 80 centimes against 100 pengoes. The Hungarian
National Bank has again started circulation of the previously withdrawn 20-
pengo
banknote in order to alleviate the shortage of banknotes on the market.

After several weeks, looting stopped; today it is the Hungarian police who
watch over public security. But Russian soldiers often arrest passersby,
relieving them of the contents of their pockets, especially watches, cash and
even papers of identity.

Rape is causing the greatest suffering to the Hungarian population. Violations
are so general -
from the age of 10 up to 70 years -
that few women in Hungary escape this fate. Acts of incredible brutality have
been registered. Many women prefer to commit suicide in order to escape
monstrosities. Even now, when order is more or less re-
established,
Russian soldiers will watch houses where women live and raid them at night,
knocking down anybody who opposes them. The women generally are not killed,
but kept for several hours, if not for days, before being liberated. Misery is
increased by the sad fact that many of the Russian soldiers are ill and
medicines in Hungary are completely missing. Cases have been reported where
Russian women serving in the Red army or in the Russian police force have been
guilty of rape. Men have been beaten up by such women for not having submitted
themselves to their wishes.

Only a few political executions are known to have taken place, including those
of some extremist officers who have "distinguished" themselves in the
persecution of Jews. On the other hand, complete uncertainty prevails
concerning the fate of very many people. The reason for this incertitude is
that many persons escaped at the approach of the Russians. Hungarians were
evacuated or deported in large numbers by the Germans; many were killed during
the siege; and large numbers changed their addresses as their habitations were
destroyed. All means for the search of such persons is lacking. Uncertainty
is increased by the Russian practice of assuring labor for necessary public
works by simply halting people in the streets or raiding certain blocks of
houses for workers. (In the beginning everybody was treated this way. Later
this treatment was restricted to men below sixty and women below forty years of
age.) By these methods, thousands and thousands of people in the provinces as well as Budapest proper are forced to work. These
people usually are returned after more or less time, but are never given a
chance to inform their families of their whereabouts. For instance, the
present cabinet minister for public instruction, Count Géza Teleki, and
one of the mayors of the city of Budapest, were seized without warning, forced
to work and found only after two days, when a Russian officer with whom they
could speak finally released them. The richest man of the country, Prince PaulEszterházy, was found in a graveyard burying dead horses.

Near the town of Godollo, a large concentration camp has been erected where
some forty thousand internees are being held and from where they are being
deported for an unknown destination toward the Orient. It is known that these
internees get very little food unless they sign an agreement to engage as
volunteers in the Red army or accept a contract for work in Russia. Very few
details are known concerning this camp, as nobody is allowed to approach it.
Especially are those people being held here who are suspected by the Russians
of having fought against them, or who have been denounced as pro-
Nazi.
But not all of the pro-
Nazis
are being persecuted. It is known, for instance, that a member of the guards
of the general headquarters of the Hungarian Nazis, was arrested by the
Russians, but was released very shortly after having joined the Communist
Party. The case of Mr. Juhasz, president of the Gamma factory for precision
instruments, can be cited. He is generally known as an extreme rightist and
anti-
Semite.
After his arrest, laborers of his factory visited the Russian authorities and
assured them that they were satisfied to work under his guidance. The Russians
immediately released him, and he is working today in his old post.

The population of Germanic origin from the age of two up to the age of seventy
is deported en masse to Russia.

To force diplomatic missions still residing in Budapest (the Swiss, Swedish,
Turkish and Papal legations) and also foreigners living in Hungary to rejoin
their own countries, the Russians have declared that all foreigners who stay in
Budapest will be treated exactly as if they were Hungarians. The departure of
the Swiss legation was properly organized by the Russians; second and third
class railway cars were made accessible to them. During their journey to
Istanbul, which lasted forty-
eight
hours, all the travelers were strictly forbidden to contact the outside world. In Bucharest, for instance, they could not speak to
anybody, not even to the members of the Swiss legation in Bucharest who had
come to the railway station to meet them. Several Swiss citizens could not
leave Budapest within the allowed twenty-
four
hours as they did not possess papers of identity, Russian patrols having
previously halted them in the streets and confiscated all their documents. The
passports issued by the Swiss legation have not been accepted as valid by the
Russians.

The Hungarian government has no power whatsoever. It is simply tolerated by
the Russians.

The chief of the Swiss legation, Mr. Feller, and its chancellor, Mr. Mayer,
were arrested by the GPU shortly after the entry of the Russians. Nobody has
heard a word about them since. On the other hand, the rumor that two ladies of
the same legation had disappeared was not found to be true. During the looting
of the premises of the legation, one of four occasions, the Russians put a rope
around the neck of Mr. Ember, an employee of the legation, in order to force
him to hand over the keys of the official safe. As he refused to do so, even
in his plight, they pulled the rope around his neck until he lost
consciousness. Then they took the keys from his pocket, emptied the safe and
took away all the deposits, amounting to several millions.

The Committee of the International Red Cross had two delegates in Budapest.
One of them, Mr. Born, was ordered to leave the country immediately. The
other, Mr. Weyermann, after having been arrested for two days (when all his
documents were also destroyed) was allowed to stay on; but he has no liberty of
action and can do very little.

A big safe of the Swedish legation which the Nazis had unsuccessfully tried to
remove was removed by the Russians with all its contents. This affair will
have a diplomatic sequence as the Swedes propose to protest to Russia.

Jewish refugees within the neutral legations succeeded in escaping
extermination by the GermanGestapo. They were apparently saved because of the
hardships imposed on the Germans by the siege. A member of the Swiss legation
reports that the Jews whom they had been taking care of are generally safe.
There were only three Jewish-
inhabited
houses under Swedish protection which were occupied by the Germans, their inhabitants being killed and their corpses thrown into the Danube. There is
also reassuring news concerning several persons protected by the legation of
Portugal. Unfortunately, Mr. Zoltán Farkas, attorney of the Spanish
legation, charged with the protection of that legation, was killed.

Generally speaking, the Russians do not treat the Jews any better than the rest
of the population.

It is estimated that more than half of the city of Budapest is destroyed. The
commercial district and the hills of Buda (the Fortress and the Rozsadomb) have
suffered most. There are certain parts in the city which, according to the
Russians, have suffered more than Stalinrad. The quays on the Danube and
especially the Elizabeth Bridge and the Chain Bridge have been almost
completely destroyed. In the Fortress there is almost no house standing. The
Royal Palace was burned down. The Coronation Church collapsed. The Parliament
Building is severely damaged, but its skyline has remained intact. The hotels
Ritz, Hungária, Carlton, Vadaszkurt, and Gellért are all in
ruins. The Vaczi-
utca
has suffered very much. The house of Gerbeaud is damaged, but still stands. A
stable was set up during the siege in the great hall of the confectionery
store. The Commercial Bank is more damaged than the Credit Bank. The
buildings housing the other banks, Moktar, Adria, the National Casino, were
burned down completely. The French legation was entirely destroyed by the
Germans. The house of the Hubayfamily next to the French legation also
suffered a lot during the siege.

Only the waterworks on the Pest side function, not yet those in Buda. There is
no gas. Electricity can only be granted to factories working for the Russians
and to offices and habitations of the forces of occupation. Two film theaters
playing Russian films have been granted electricity. All other customers'
meters have been sealed. The trams had started circulation, but on account of
the lack of current, they have been halted and those blocking traffic on the
roads have been removed by tractors. For civilian use there is no other means
of communication than a few horse-
or mule-
driven
carriages. Within the city the post already functions, but in order to send a
letter to the provinces you have to take your letter to some suburb from which
trains start, the central railway station being entirely destroyed. Travel in
the provinces is only allowed with special permission from the Russian authorities and only in
freight cars. All the radios in town have been requisitioned by the
Russians.

The Franz JosefBridge and the Nicholas Horthy Bridge have been repaired with
wooden constructions. There is also a pontoon bridge which the Russians built
at the head of Margaret Island. The food situation in town is disastrous due
to the lack of transportation. In the provinces the situation is distinctly
better. The bread ration in Budapest is l00 grams daily per person, or 70
grams of flour. Potatoes are granted: two pounds per person per week, but even
these rations are received infrequently. The black market is considered legal
and prices are not controlled. If any person succeeds in slipping through the
Russian city control with his products, he can sell them freely. By this
system, the fabulous prices that existed throughout the siege have been lowered
(for instance, two pounds of flour has fallen from 200 pengoes to 50 or 70).

The factories are working exclusively for the Russians. Laborers receive a
threefold food ration. In order to maintain this ration the Russians are
compelled to transport a limited quantity of food to Budapest.

During the siege the population had to live exclusively on whatever stocks or
reserves it had piled up. Toward the end of the siege, the situation was
disastrous and the corpses of horses dead for several weeks (often flattened by
tanks that passed over them) had also been eaten up.

Hygienic conditions are very saddening. There are several epidemics
(especially typhus>. Sanitary service has been fairly well organized.
Every block of houses has one doctor for surveillance against epidemics, but on
the other hand, pharmaceutical products and medicines are completely missing,
although the Russians have given some disinfectants for the population of
Budapest. The pharmacies were completely looted by the Germans, the Hungarian
Nazis and the Russians. Medicines are highly in demand; you can exchange
against aspirin and especially against antiseptic products very favorably for
food and other products.

The Russian troops that entered Budapest first made a distinctly good
impression as they were very well equipped. The troops coming later were much
less well equipped and very poorly clad, except for their armaments which were
just as good as with the elite troops. Almost all the infantry is armed with machine guns. Discipline is very questionable. The soldiers will only
obey the officers of their own detachment. The officers are not greeted by the
soldiers and detachments on the march resemble a band of excursionists. Many
of the Russian soldiers do not understand Russian as there is an immense
variety of races among them. Propaganda plays the supreme role in the Russian
army. For instance, the castle of Seregelyes, belonging to Count Béla
Hadik -
the Russian shock troops removed all the furniture and destroyed all the
installations within the castle, poured gasoline over the mass of things and
ignited it. The castle was then refurnished by the Russian soldiers with straw
beds in order to prove to the troops following them in what misery even the
bourgeoisie were living. The same procedure was followed in the villages and
in the peasants' habitations.